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Wow, I have been clamoring at the mouth all day to get home and write my review. There are so many things wrong at this point I am not sure where to start.

1. Andre Johnson, I love you man but something is not right. Here is a post from a medical guy on another forum

Quote:

Besides significantly limiting the plays that they target him, if you notice his routes are essentially avoiding acute cuts/curls/change of direction. They are straight-line or gentle angles. In their game play plans they are definitely showing sensitivity to avoiding moves that will encourage recurrence of hamstring, knee and ankle problems, while trying to further protect him from further aggravating his ongoing groin problem.

He was injured in TC and really has done nothing of significance this entire season. His routes are not crisp and I fear he is battling an injury.

2. Jonathan Joseph, why the heck he was playing last night is beyond me. He battled a groin problem ALL week and we played a scrub Jets team and yet they played him......you notice that Mark targeted JJo more than anyone? The guy better get healthy before this week or we're screwed. I am ashamed they kept him in the game while getting destroyed. And why is Harris even on this team, if he cannot contribute on ST or defense then cut him now.

3. Our run defense was great yesterday. We allowed 69 rush yards and 3.0 YPC, seems like Wade can pinpoint what to stop and focus on that, but cannot seem to stop both the pass and run at the same time. We allowed Mark to throw for some good yardage and if his wideouts could catch it would have been worse. Hopefully it was a fluke because JJo was hurt.

4. ST is a joke right now, Holliday is terrible, our coverage is worse and our blocking on kick and punt returns is bad. Marciano better figure out what the problem is and how to fix it because it WILL cost us a game and it almost did last night. This is a MAJOR concern right now.

5. ILB wtf are we gonna do now?!?!?!? I doubt we trade for anyone because it is not our way of doing business. I would like to see Braman in more and would love to see if Reed could play inside. Let Mercilus play OLB and kick Reed in. The problem is, I think this hurts our run defense GREATLY but really at this point, missing Cushing in general will hurt our run defense.

Anyone suggesting the Texans should kick Reed or Barwin inside is overreacting. It is simply foolish to think that would be better than continuing the season with Dobbins, Sharpton, Alexander and James at ILB. Losing Cushing hurts. But we have 4 capable linebackers on the roster right now and Mercilus will still see the field as part of certain pass rush packages. Honestly the front 5 are very important, and as long as they are intact and the secondary is intact, the defense will be fine. We operate out of the nickel so much that ILB isn't as important as pass rushers and DB's. That is why we were willing to let DeMeco go. We didn't need to pay him highly to be an ILB in our defense. Sharpton, if fully healed, will be able to contribute a lot and Dobbins is already a team captain for special teams._________________

Anyone suggesting the Texans should kick Reed or Barwin inside is overreacting. It is simply foolish to think that would be better than continuing the season with Dobbins, Sharpton, Alexander and James at ILB. Losing Cushing hurts. But we have 4 capable linebackers on the roster right now and Mercilus will still see the field as part of certain pass rush packages. Honestly the front 5 are very important, and as long as they are intact and the secondary is intact, the defense will be fine. We operate out of the nickel so much that ILB isn't as important as pass rushers and DB's. That is why we were willing to let DeMeco go. We didn't need to pay him highly to be an ILB in our defense. Sharpton, if fully healed, will be able to contribute a lot and Dobbins is already a team captain for special teams.

Pretty sure you undervalue Cushing and everything he can do from his position. There is a reason we can run nickle a lot and keep in only Cushing as a true LB, because he can defend the entire field across on the run and is athletic enough to cover most backs. This is a MAJOR loss

I agree on ALL fronts, but will add that this is EXACTLY the type of game we used to lose (and did to the Jets in 2010). If you remember that pathetic game, we went up by 1 with an Arian Foster TD at 2:18. Kevin Bentley intercepted Sanchez 2 plays later and returned it to the 10 with everyone heading out of the stands. Kubiak ran Foster into the pile on 3 straight plays taking :47 total seconds off the clock and settling for a field goal to go up 27-23. Sanchez took them down the field 67 yards in 3 plays in :45 seconds beating Quin then Allen/Wilson and then Quin again.

I'd love to give the Texans kudos for being a completely different team, but the simple fact is that JJ Watt-happened and that was the sole difference between winning and losing along with Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards not being around for the final drive and Ryan calling a desperate game with poor fundamentals like the onside kick. Kubiak remains AWFUL at killing a clock as there is absolutely no freakin excuse for us being exposed to a punt return or block and for the Jets to get the ball back after an interception inside the 2 minute warning when they had only 1 time out left.

Last night was FAR too close for comfort thanks to some abysmal special teams play and AJ merely taking up space out there on almost every down. Joseph was a mess and we better get something figured out quickly as Nelson, Jones, and Cobb, dwarf those arena league receivers we played this week and Rodgers comp % is a mere 20 points higher than Sanchez. It's a W, but the Packers and Ravens aren't the Jets who I have slated for a top 10 pick.

Don't get me wrong, Im happy we squeaked out a win and winning on the road, vs a team who was embarrassed the week before is no easy task. BUT having said that, we looked terrible while doing it. AND the Packers themselves are coming off a terrible loss.

I am not too mad that we had to punt prior to the game ending, I am mad they did not EXPECT THE ONSIDE kick or the punt block, did he not know they were desperate for a win??? I mean if everyone in the WORLD saw it coming, how the hell could our coaching staff have not seen it? JJ Watt is really the reason our defense is better. Him and Cushing and now that Brian is gone, we could struggle badly.

I fear what will happen if Arod brings his top game this week. Our secondary (Joseph) looked BAD.

1. Andre Johnson, I love you man but something is not right. Here is a post from a medical guy on another forum

Quote:

Besides significantly limiting the plays that they target him, if you notice his routes are essentially avoiding acute cuts/curls/change of direction. They are straight-line or gentle angles. In their game play plans they are definitely showing sensitivity to avoiding moves that will encourage recurrence of hamstring, knee and ankle problems, while trying to further protect him from further aggravating his ongoing groin problem.

He was injured in TC and really has done nothing of significance this entire season. His routes are not crisp and I fear he is battling an injury.

I don't know what it is, but it is concerning. The Miami game was "old" AJ, the Jacksonville game was a scheming issue, as we wanted to really wear out Tyson Alualu and Terrance Knighton, he looked like a beast in the Denver game early on, but vanished (had the one deep pass hit him in the face, had the near TD grab on the Mays killshot, and had the closing 12 yard reception) he looked as if he was on a brutal pace after the first drive in Tenn then vanished, and then...yesterday, Cro Island came and locked him up.

I'll give credit to Cro, who was outstanding with no S help...but outside of that, something is just not working with the guy. That Titans game looked like it was going to be an all-time great performance for him, with like 50+ yards on 2 catches on the first drive. Then? Nothing. The Denver game started off hot, then NOTHING...but to be fair, he did end the game with his 12 yard catch on a 3rd and 10, caught the ball before the marker and willed himself to get the first down plus a few extra yards. I don't know if it's an injury issue, or if there saving him for something, or even if it's age catching up to him - he's been inconsistent this whole year, and something has got to give.

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2. Jonathan Joseph, why the heck he was playing last night is beyond me. He battled a groin problem ALL week and we played a scrub Jets team and yet they played him......you notice that Mark targeted JJo more than anyone? The guy better get healthy before this week or we're screwed. I am ashamed they kept him in the game while getting destroyed. And why is Harris even on this team, if he cannot contribute on ST or defense then cut him now.

I'm willing to give Joseph the benefit, even though he just got beat down by the NFLs version of the Three Stooges in Schillins, Hill and Curley (Cromartie had him beat like Rihanna on that deep route, and if Vinny Chase throws the ball a yard or two towards Cro's inside shoulder, that's a TD). Seems like Joseph is good for 1-2 stinkers a season; Last year, he had a rough day trying to keep up with Anquan Boldin in the Reg Season game against the Ravens, and Steve Smith beat him over the head in the Panthers game. I know he's got the groin issue, and if it's still a concern, he needs to get a cortizone shot and give it a few days of rest, and come out as the old Joseph we've all grown to love.

Quote:

3. Our run defense was great yesterday. We allowed 69 rush yards and 3.0 YPC, seems like Wade can pinpoint what to stop and focus on that, but cannot seem to stop both the pass and run at the same time. We allowed Mark to throw for some good yardage and if his wideouts could catch it would have been worse. Hopefully it was a fluke because JJo was hurt.

I'm leaning towards that...for now. As said above, if Joseph is hurt, he needs some meds, some shots, some ice and some rest. The run D didn't stand out to me, as we were playing a team that simply can't run the ball, with a C that was playing on one leg in Nick Mangold. Shonn Greene has been at a 2.0 YPC clip, so we actually let him perform BETTER than he has been all season. That isn't going to be good when we have the Pats (who have suddenly found a DANGEROUS run game) and Ray Rice, all while fighting these two teams for the #1 seed in the conference.

Quote:

4. ST is a joke right now, Holliday is terrible, our coverage is worse and our blocking on kick and punt returns is bad. Marciano better figure out what the problem is and how to fix it because it WILL cost us a game and it almost did last night. This is a MAJOR concern right now.

Bingo. Holliday has to go, we have to find someone who can play some emergency ILB and provide a spark on ST. Shawn Losineau makes a lot of sense at this stage, moreso than Holliday who is actually hurting us with some poor decisions.

Quote:

5. ILB wtf are we gonna do now?!?!?!? I doubt we trade for anyone because it is not our way of doing business. I would like to see Braman in more and would love to see if Reed could play inside. Let Mercilus play OLB and kick Reed in. The problem is, I think this hurts our run defense GREATLY but really at this point, missing Cushing in general will hurt our run defense.

As I said, bring in Losineau, for his ST and to take some snaps at the ILB role. I would also be interested in bringing in any of the guys who had played for our D in the past - Kevin Bentley, Omar Gaither, Xavier Adibi - and get them some Practice reps at ILB.

Moving Reed or Barwin to the inside also makes sense, but best we hedge our bets and have some depth at the spot; Bentley played a lot when DeMeco Ryans was hurt (was that two years ago? Last year? I forget) and is another big time gunner on ST, so having him on tap wouldn't hurt, either. I say move Reed/Barwin inside (Reed has the build, Barwin has proven he can take on new assignments with little prep time and do very well) bring in Mercilius to the vacancy...but have a contingency plan with Losineau, Bentley and Dobbins in a three man rotation at the ILB spot vacated by Cushing. If for some reason the Reed/Barwin move doesn't work out, we have a backup plan that doesn't catch us with our pants down._________________

I'm willing to give Joseph the benefit, even though he just got beat down by the NFLs version of the Three Stooges in Schillins, Hill and Curley (Cromartie had him beat like Rihanna on that deep route, and if Vinny Chase throws the ball a yard or two towards Cro's inside shoulder, that's a TD). Seems like Joseph is good for 1-2 stinkers a season; Last year, he had a rough day trying to keep up with Anquan Boldin in the Reg Season game against the Ravens, and Steve Smith beat him over the head in the Panthers game. I know he's got the groin issue, and if it's still a concern, he needs to get a cortizone shot and give it a few days of rest, and come out as the old Joseph we've all grown to love.

It's Kerley. And as he showed last night, he's not that bad of a WR. He's not a star or anything like that, but I think he is a very good slot WR. He has more yards than any Texans (or Jets) WR this season.

Edit: Just caught the Three Stooges joke. 3/10. You forgot that Clyde Gates beat him for 27 yards.

I agree especially with the Andre point. We're treating him like a god damn baby. Let him be himself.

AJ is NOT above being called out. I remember inciting "heretic" catcalls in my direction in 2008 when I dared dole out some blame AJs way for our 0-4 start, but the fact was that he played soft in the Pittsburgh opener despite good numbers and was invisible the next two games (both division losses). He got his mojo back in a loss in week 4 and ended the season w/115 catches and 1500 yards which he repeated in 2009. 2010 was exceptional but he missed 3 games with injury and of course last year he started out strong again got hurt again missing essentially 10 games. His ability to play again last year was impressive, but he was not without blame in the playoff loss to the Ravens despite good stats (he could have saved 2 interceptions).

I certainly agree that there is probably a physical component to his underwhelming start as he just doesn't seem explosive at all, is playing tentative, and quite simply isn't doing what it takes to get open in this league against #1 CBs (which is his job!). What I think we are also seeing is his inability to adjust to the "new normal" that is his current ability and place in the pecking order of this offense. It is inexcusable to be dominated by Antonio Cromartie (or a 34 year old Champ Bailey) and there should be no confusion there. It was always unacceptable that AJ tended to get shutdown by top corners even in his prime, but Antonio Cromartie IS NOT a shut down corner and AJ needs to use his BRAIN and his BRAUN if he can't beat him with his legs. Cromartie's career has brought some brilliant play, but he is a dope who can be outsmarted and have his aggressiveness used against him. Considering he was also playing offensive downs it was critical to take a pound of flesh on every play to set him up, wear him down, and on multiple occasions I saw AJ making NO EFFORT to run block (aka hit him) or bother to sell a route even when he was in single coverage in the red zone. I don't care if we are running a stretch play to the other side, you use those downs to set up a CB like Cro and AJ knows it. If that were Jacoby out there moping around we would be killing him and AJ needs to be held to a higher standard.

Even the biggest AJ apologist has to admit that AJ's demeanor has been defeatist and his poor attitude is effecting his play as this week he dropped a ball right on the numbers which was purely mental not physical (like the int was and that awful drop in Denver). I am hopeful that AJ gets back to where he once was physically, but he hasn't been there in two years and it may be time for him to enter the phase of his career where he still wins games for us, just in different ways (AJ is more talented than Hines Ward & Derrick Mason ever were, but he needs to start taking on some of their craftiness and accept that that 2nd catch in the Denver game was every bit as important as his first). AJ has to be ready to impact regardless of how many times he is targeted and the simple fact is that the days of force feeding AJ are gone and ints like this week show why they need to be. In the meantime, AJ needs to adjust his game to use his size and awareness advantages until the legs catch up.

Sorry folks, as I warned when he was extended, AJ is going to be drawing a top 5 WR salary for the next 4 years, so we have to be sensitive to signs of decline. There are no less than 10 receivers drafted in the past 3 years with more yards than AJ thru 5 weeks and 15 with more receptions. System and scheme explains away some of it, but we should also look at the team across from us this week and ask where is our Jordy Nelson, James Jones, or Randall Cobb because they didn't wait for Donald Driver to start showing his age before developing Greg Jennings and unlike us last year, they even have quality options when he goes down. Time will tell if AJ can bounce back like Reggie Wayne has, but we also can't be in denial because we just played a team that put all their eggs in the Santonio Holmes basket and are now staring at a trainwreck._________________

I seen a lot of Bradie James and Alan Ball, that's what happened. 1 guy that should be in the game when they know the other team is running 100% of the time and another that shouldn't be in the league._________________NFL-Cowboys
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